Here are a few reviews of the movies I’ve seen in the last week and a half:

V for Vendetta – Set in a futuristic totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a young working-class woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man known only as “V”.

The movie was excellent despite deviating quite a bit from the graphic novel. Hugo Weaving does an amazing job as V, overcoming the challenges of conveying emotions while wearing a mask that covers his entire face. James McTeigue did an amazing job lighting the Guy Fawkes mask to help convey various emotions. The only complaint I have is that, at times, details were left out that might have made the story flow more clearly. Remember, Remember, the 5th of November… 4/5 stars

She’s the Man – Amanda Bynes plays a girl who disguises herself as her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) and enrolls in his place at his new boarding school, to try and prove she’s good enough to play soccer with the boys.

Yes it’s a teen comedy, and yes it has it’s corny moments, but all in all I was very impressed with the film. Having relatively low expectations going in, I was more than pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be legitimately funny. It’s based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, so it automatically gets some credibility for the story right off the bat. The story is fast-paced and funny, and it works really well because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. 4/5 stars

Thank You For Smoking – Based on the novel by Christopher Buckley, this movie is about Nick Naylor (played by Aaron Eckhart), the public spokesman for Big Tobacco.

All the actors do and excellent job portraying their characters and their quirkiness. The script is witty, smart, and hysterical. One of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. Definitely go see it when it comes out. 5/5 stars

The Hills Have Eyes – The remake of the 1977 Wes Craven classic is a punch-in-the-face as far as horror movies go. A family on vacation tries to take a short cut through the desert and is ambushed by crazy inbred people mutated by nuclear radiation.

This isn’t your typical horror movie with dumb blondes, incidental sex scenes, and people running up the stairs when they should go outside. There is actually some character development in the story. It’s also very very raw. Nothing is left to your imagination or implied; it’s very explicit. You see everything. It’s also got the “boo!” surprise moments too, so it’s not all slasher stuff. In the end, it’s incredibly gory and disturbing. I think that some people will probably find it to be too much to handle and won’t see how good of a horror movie it really is. We definitely haven’t had a horror movie this horrific in a while. 3/5 stars

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